Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, OOntwas a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, but simply "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, and received numerous other awards and honours. He is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists, and played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionPianist
Date of Birth15 August 1925
CityMontreal, Canada
CountryCanada
very honored and proud that jazz has brought me to this acclaim by the Canadian people.
The music field was the first to break down racial barriers, because in order to play together, you have to love the people you are playing with, and if you have any racial inhibitions, you wouldn't be able to do that.
I'm a musician and, just as the critics are hard on me, I'm hard on the critics.
Some people try to get very philosophical and cerebral about what they're trying to say with jazz. You don't need any prologues, you just play. If you have something to say of any worth then people will listen to you.
I believe in using the entire piano as a single instrument capable of expressing every possible musical idea.
Louie Bellson represents the epitome of musical talent. His ability to cover the whole musical spectrum from an elite percussionist to a very gifted composer and arranger never ceases to amaze me. I consider him one of the musical giants of our age.
If the average jazz artist uses his head and at the outset of his career realizes he won't play as well at fifty as he does at twenty-five, he won't be in a line-up outside the Salvation Army when he's fifty.
I despair about the lack of proper respect shown for the piano. If you want it to sound like a traffic jam, go out in the street and forget the piano. That's not a piano sound.
You not only have to know your own instrument, you must know the others and how to back them up at all times. That's jazz.